Today is October 19th. If you are in the market to buy a home, you have 42 days to find a home , get it under contract, and ultimately to the closing table if you want to ensure you can take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit. The tax credit is essentially an $8,000 giveaway to home first time home buyers who make less than $75,000 a single filer or $150,000 jointly.
Why 42 days? Because in forty two days, it will be November 30th which is the last day you can close on your transaction and still qualify for the credit. Remember, it takes about 30 to 60 days to get to the closing table from the time the seller accepts your offer. Thefore, if you expect to finalize your transaction by the November 30th deadline, you basically need to find a place and make an offer on it within the next few days. Realistically, if you aren’t already under contract, you most likely will not make the deadline.
Nevertheless, there is quite a bit of support for extending the credit for next year and even increasing it so you may get a second chance.
